Little People All Around

Here is my latest creation. I have no word for them. They were/are fun to make. I've posted the pics in the order of making these little guys. And they are going with me down to the New Orleans Freret Market soon.

 

Going to Nashville, and New Colorways to Explore

In a few weeks I am gong to Nashville to spend a few days with Anna Marie Horner and Amy Butler and a few other friends as we explore color and pattern in textiles. Anna Marie has a new line of fabrics called Pretty Potent,

 and Amy has a line called Hapi.

I will let you know (with pix) how it goes, because I am very excited. Part of our assignment is to gather photos and images that we feel drawn to, so I am collecting those as I go about my days.

I am an admitted fabriholic, and wherever I go and a textile print catches my eye, I have to stop and explore. And perhaps make a purchase. My husband and I were in Nashville a couple weeks ago and he graciously allowed me time to explore to my heart's content two fabric stores within walking distance of each other (he sat at a coffee shop and read a book).The Fabric Gallery (no website) and  Textile Fabrics . At one I purchased a large bag of gorgeous, rich-looking drapery trim remnants. At the other, I purchased two patterns and 3 pieces of sale fabrics at a bargain price.

Sellers and shops on Ebay and Etsy, as well as Craftsy and Fabric.com are my favorite places to find the modern fabric designs that I love. There are a few Etsy shops that sell imported Japanese fabric that has vintage charm, like Babuska dolls, airstream trailers, old cars and old rotary dial phones. If you have not explored Craftsy yet, take a look. There are classes in most any creative direction you may want to explore. And then there's the designer Kaffe Fossett! His bold colors are addictive! My next project is a quilt mixing Amy Butler prints and Kaffe prints. 

Is there a new creative avenue that you would like to explore? Where do you get your inspiration?

Every One of Us is a Creative Spirit

"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being."  (Hafiz, Persian mystic, in the 1300's)

I believe this in a deep spiritual way. Some of us live in loneliness or darkness. Others have fleeting or extended periods of our lives that seem to be taken over by these feelings. How do we get in touch with this astonishing light that Hafiz refers to? When we turn and face the loneliness, the darkness of our being, we may discover a part of ourselves that we never knew existed.

Lately I have been obsessed (more so than usual) with creating something every day. This week I created two quilt tops that I may make up into one quilt, using one of them as a 'back'. Both are pictured here. When I am sewing, creating (writing, painting, gardening, etc.), time flies past and I forget even to eat.

I needed a small strip of fabric to fill in some black space and picked up a scrap piece off the floor. I went to iron it out, planning to applique it onto the quilt top. As I ironed this small snippet of fabric, about 1/3" x 5", I began to read what was printed on it: "... went in search of her soul. Stitch by stitch she pieced her soul together." 

No, I am not kidding. 

In Anne Lamott's book on writing, Bird By Bird, she says over and over that for writers getting published is not the goal. Writing is. Writing, creating anything, is a royal road to the soul, where your true self resides. 

How do you get in touch with your true self, that "astonishing light"?